The Libraries Loan iPads, Laptops, Chargers – REALLY? REALLY!!!

It’s been about a year since several of the libraries began circulating laptops and iPads. Soon after that, O’Neill added chargers for Dell and Mac laptops, graphing and mathematical calculators, head phones, flat screen adapters and flip cameras. Why? The simple answer is student demand. Tom Wall, the University Librarian, has an undergraduate student advisory group and they have been articulating technology needs for us for some time.

O’Neill has a combination of 25 iPads and laptops to loan. The ERC in Campion also has iPads for loan (and many other technology items.). They have designated six iPads for general circulation and six that must be borrowed as a set with the intention of being used as a teaching tool in a classroom.

iPads and laptops have a 4 day loan, while most other technology items circulate for 4 hours. You can check the availability of each by going to the Libraries home page and clicking on Technology Loans or searching in Quest using the title iPad. You can also check on what other technology items are available such as calculators or Mac and laptop chargers.

If you’ve been on the fence about purchasing an iPad here’s an opportunity to give the new technology an extended test drive.

Not so high tech, but also recommended by the students, is the O’Neill Library Popular Reading Collection currently shelved on Level 1 of O’Neill near the Campanella Connection entrance. This is a rental collection of print books, mostly ordered from best seller lists. These books circulate for 28 days to faculty, staff and students. There is a basic collection of about 200 books that is refreshed every month or so.

To complement this collection, the Libraries very recently rolled out an e-book popular reading collection, hosted by OverDrive. Through this new service, you can download e-books onto devices such as Kindles, iPads and smart phones. Our initial collection contains best sellers, top academic picks, and thousands of e-books in the public domain. BC users can check out up to 2 titles at a time for 7, 14, or 21 days. Access Overdrive here, or click on the "Download eBooks" link on the library homepage.

What else can you find on O’Neill’s level 1? A newly established rental collection of popular movies on DVD joined the books a few weeks ago. The collection will grow to about 60-70 DVDs and be refreshed as the books are. The loan period for the DVDs is 4 days. You can place a hold on the items in this collection so that you will be notified when the one you want is returned.

You can make recommendations for any of the popular collections in O’Neill by sending your suggestions to Pop.Reading@bc.edu. If you have any other recommendations about how BC Libraries could serve users’ technology needs, please contact me at margie.battaglia@bc.edu.